Broken City
by EagleByte
Summary: The Inklings should've been safe on the surface, or at least, that's what they assumed. The Octarians had other plans. After a surprise invasion, leaving Inkopolis an opressed, dark city, a young male Inkling steps up to the plate to recaim what was lost. Rated T for violence, language, and mild sexual content.


**Prologue**

**March 2019, PF**

A lone Male Inkling crashed through a pair of bushes, weaving in and out between the trees. Pain lanced through his shoulder, a deep wound covered by a hand, yellow ink seeping between and staining his fingers. His breaths came in short, pained bursts as he stumbled through the woods.

A clearing opened in front of him, which he sprinted across at a surprising speed for his current state of lightheadedness. His downfall came when he glanced behind him to ensure his pursuers were lost. His foot connected with an uneven patch of ground, causing him to fall directly on his face, any wind knocked from his lungs instantly. He lay there gasping for breath, struggling to stand up as more pain surged through him. A shout in an indistinguishable language and a light being shone in his direction alerted him back to his senses, and with a grunt, he stood up and stumbled away into the woods once more.

He heard the voices growing closer and urged himself to continue running, but his legs gave out from under him, and he collapsed to the ground. Just as the light was shone in his direction, he heard a charger shot fire and the light instantly fell away. He glanced up and saw a figure wearing a kimono running up to him, charger in her hand.

"Three!" she shouted, dropping to her knees over him. "Are you okay? Can you walk?"

Three grunted, attempting to sit up. "They got me in the shoulder, and I've lost a lot of ink. Honestly, I don't think I can walk."

The girl shook her head. "Not good. I can't carry you, how are we to get you back to the base?"

"Marie, it's fine," Three assured her. "I'll be fine, just deliver the news to the others that attack is imminent, and that we need to prepare. I'll find a way back."

"But-" Marie began to protest.

Three reached up and grabbed her arm. "Go. I didn't sign up for this job to not risk my life when the time came to do so. This information will save many lives, most of which are worth more than my own. Now go, I'll get back on my own."

She pulled her arm away and nodded. "Understood. Be safe." She turned and ran into the dark woods, leaving him alone.

He lay there and sighed, urging himself to get up, his muscles screaming in protest at the command. With a grunt he laid back down. His shoulder's pain had lessened and became a dull throb. Wincing, he pulled his shirt off to inspect it closer, and sighed in disappointment seeing the area was red and swelling, and a small touch sent a burning pain rippling through his skin. To the best of his ability he took his shirt and wrapped it around the wound, tightly making a makeshift bandage. "Thank God for my time in the Squid Scouts," he muttered.

He lay there for a few minutes, gathering a bit of strength, then stood up slowly. He slumped against a tree and looked up, seeing a long, thick branch above him. Pushing through the pain, he grabbed it with both arms and pulled down sharply, snapping it off the tree. With his new walking stick, he staggered through the woods towards Inkopolis. Roughly a 5 mile hike, he had a good distance to travel, but he set out to reach it within the coming hours, before daylight. His pain meant nothing anymore, it was simply a small rock in his way rather than a large boulder. He'd reach the city, and nothing would stand in his way.

**\--**

Josiah Douglass shot up in his bed, panting, a cold sweat drenching his body. He took a few shaky breaths and ran a hand through his long, green tentacles, sighing. His dreams were conflicted with visions of his past, horrible histories no child should go through.

Once he calmed down, he looked at the sleeping form beside him. Aileen Marso, a pink-tentacled Octoling, currently shared his bed, as she had for the previous two years. Despite the fact that she was the cause of his emotional scarring, the two had shared a wonderful relationship since they moved to Inkopolis.

Josiah smiled seeing that she wasn't stirred by his sudden awakening. He laid back down and shut his eyes once more but couldn't fall back asleep, too shaken from the nightmare. Grunting, he slid out of bed and tip-toed to the door, careful to not wake Aileen. He heard her roll over and murmur something incomprehensible, but other than that, she was perfectly silent. He soundlessly slid the door shut then sighed in relief, walking down the stairs to the kitchen. Once there, he splashed some water on his face and grabbed a cup to pour himself a drink. Satisfied, he grabbed his book he had been reading and walked into the living room to read.

"Josiah?" a female voice said.

Josiah looked up from his book to see Aileen at the bottom of the stairs, looking at him with tired eyes. "Yeah?" he answered.

"What are you doing up? It's so early."

He glanced up at the clock he had hanging on the wall, which read out 4 am. "Couldn't sleep," he replied shortly. "Decided to read until I felt tired again."

She gave him a sad smile and walked over to him. "You know that doesn't work, it never does. Come back to bed, it's cold without you." She grabbed his hand and pulled him up out of the chair. He nodded and began walking back up to the room. "I'll try, just...these dreams I keep having, they trouble me. You know, make me upset. And the thing is...the dreams are more memories, nothing in them hasn't already happened. I don't know why I keep having them, and why they upset me so much, we're safe now, and-"

"Josiah," she cut him off. "It's okay. I get it, I have them sometimes too."

"You do?" he sounded surprised.

She smiled. "I'm just more sneaky about getting out of bed so you don't notice."

He laughed. "I guess I can be loud sometimes."

"That's an understatement. Anybody could hear you sleep talk a mile away."

"Hey now, I'm not that loud, am I?"

"Maybe," she joked. "You'll never know, that's something I'm keeping to myself."

"Fine, keep your secrets then." He walked over to the bed and slipped in, Aileen beside him. She wrapped her arms around him, gave a contented sigh, and closed her eyes. He laid there thinking for a little while before closing his.

A loud crash outside startled him out of his dozing state. He groaned and rolled out of bed to look out the window and see the source of the noise. What he saw caused him to inhale sharply with surprise.

Outside marched a large group of Octolings and Octarians, some breaking off from the group and breaking the doors down to homes, exiting with weapons in hand, dragging any Inklings who protested. The source of the crash was an Octoling who had to throw an Inkling against a trash bin to get him to cooperate. There were shouts of protest and fear, accompanied by commands in a foreign language amongst the Octaeians.

Another crash from downstairs caused him to jump, followed by the sound of wood splintering. Footsteps entered the house, and he heard objects being smashed. He glanced over at Aileen, who had since sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes. "Josiah, what-"

He quickly clamped a hand over her mouth, signalling her to be quiet. "The city's under attack," he whispered in her ear. "We need to get out somehow."

"What about the window? We could climb out on the roof."

"And go where from there? That only gets us so far."

"I don't know, just-"

The door to the bedroom was flung open, and Josiah whipped his head around to see an Octoling standing in the open doorway, Octoshot in hand, savage grin on her face. **"Commander!"** she shouted in the language Josiah heard earlier. **"I found an Octoling!"**

**"You what?!"** another voice replied. Josiah could tell from the response that the other one was surprised. Soon, another Octoling, this one with black tentacles rather than the typical red ones, forced her way by the one who opened the door and entered the room. **"You,"** she said, pointing at Aileen. **"Just what do you think you're doing?"**

Aileen looked at her in confusion. **"What?"**

**"Don't play dumb. You know you abandoned post, came to live with these...creatures. You're a disgrace to the Octarians."**

"What's she saying?" Josiah asked in Inklish, unable to understand Octarian.

"That I abandoned post…" She looked back at the Octoling. **"I've lived on the surface since I was 4 years old, I have no clue what you're talking about."**

**"Sure, and I'm Lord Octavio himself."**

**"Look at me!"** Aileen protested. **"I don't look like your or the others. My tentacles are different, eye markings, I'm not one of you!"**

The Octoling pondered what she said for a moment. **"That means nothing. You could be a newer kind, we're constantly changing, and you should know that by now."** She snapped her fingers, and the other Octoling handed her a pair of glasses. **"These will show you the truth."**

She walked to her and tried to put the glasses on Aileen, but she smacked them away. **"I don't want to think like that, you aren't controlling anything."**

The Octoling calmly picked up the glasses, then snapped her fingers again. The other pointed her weapon at Josiah. **"If you don't put these on, I will order her to shoot. Understood?"**

Aileen's face contorted with thought. She looked at Josiah with sad eyes. "Don't do it," he said. "Don't put them on, I'll be fine."

She shook her head, taking the glasses in her hand. Sighing, she put them on, and instantly went hard and rigid. The Octoling smiled. She won.

Aileen stiffly stood up and got out of bed. **"What is it you would like me to do, Commander?"** she asked.

**"Arrest him."**

Aileen saluted, then turned to Josiah, yanking him out of the bed. He looked at her in confusion. "Aileen, what are you doing?"

"As directed to," she replied shortly, pulling him towards the other Octoling, who gave her a pair of handcuffs. Before she could put them on his wrists, he twisted away.

"Aileen, stop this! You don't have to listen to them!"

She made a grab at him again, but he evaded her grasp. She grit her teeth. "Just stand stil, dammit!"

"Not until you explain what the hell you're doing!"

"I'm doing exactly what I'm told to do!" She lunged at him, tackling him to the floor. They rolled there for a moment, Josiah flipping them over to he was on top, pinning her down. He reached for her glasses before he felt a burst of pain from his arm. Looking down, he saw a burn forming on his right forearm. He looked over and saw the Octoling with her Octoshot, aimed right at him. **"Let her go,"** she said. **"Or I'll shoot again."**

He ignored her and made a grab for the glasses again, receiving another burst of pain in his arm. He could feel his arm deteriorating, the pain growing too much for him. He grunted as he felt his energy leaving him and rolled off of Aileen, collapsing beside her.

Aileen stood up and reached down to cuff Josiah, but was stopped by the Commander snapping her fingers. **"Leave him,"** she said. **"We have no need of him, let him bleed out here."**

**"Understood,"** Aileen replied with a salute.

Josiah gasped for air, breathing laboured. "Aileen...don't…"

**"Where are the weapons?"** the Octoling asked Aileen.

Aileen led them out of the room, leaving Josiah alone. After they retrieved their weapons, they left the house, leaving it perfectly quiet besides Josiah's breathing. He laid there for a while, fading in and out of consciousness.

**\--**

An Inkling approached Josiah's house, stepping cautiously through the shattered door. "Josiah?" he called out. "You here?" He stepped over the broken furniture and objects, walking up the staircase into his bedroom. "Oh my God," he gasped at the sight of his friend unconscious on the floor.

**\--**

Three stumbled out of the bushes, approaching an old, broken-down shack. He threw open the door and staggered in.

"Three!" he heard Marie say, running up and pulling him into a hug. "Oh, thank God you made it!"

He grunted at the weight pushed against his shoulder, and a wave of exhaustion flooded over him. He went limp, slipping out of her grasp and falling to the floor.

"Did we win?" he asked, closing his eyes.

"No, the message came too late," she replied, gently picking him up and laying him on the couch. "The other Agents are out attempting to right it all, but they aren't having much success."

"Ssshhhhit," he muttered, slipping out of consciousness.

**\--**

**AN:** Welcome, one and all, to my first ever fanfic. Or call it my second if you want, considering it is a rewrite of the first, but either way, it's still my first. Before you get your hopes up that this is going to be updated super frequently, let me make it clear right now that I have no set schedule at the time of writing (19 August). I have to wait and see exactly how school works out and what time I'll have for me to work on it.

Anyways, welcome again, and it would be extremely helpful for you guys to let me know how I'm doing. Any feedback here would be amazing.

Stay soarin'

-EagleByte


End file.
